Your guide to higher psychiatry training

The higher training experience

The transition from core training to higher training is a significant step in your psychiatry career. During higher training, you’ll build on the knowledge and broad experience gained in core training.

Training will reflect the subspecialty you've chosen:

• Child and Adolescent
• Forensic
• General Adult
• Old Age
• Psychotherapy
• Intellectual Disability

You’ll take on more responsibility for challenging and complex cases, refine your clinical skills, and develop expertise within your chosen subspecialty. This phase focuses on critical thinking, leadership, and preparing you for a career as a consultant psychiatrist.

Learn about the national recruitment process for higher psychiatry training.

Training rotations

Higher training is delivered through both national and regional programmes overseen by NHS Education for Scotland (NES) via the Scotland Deanery. Typically lasting 3 years, training involves rotations through different placements within the subspecialty selected.

The programme will help you to gain in-depth expertise in: 

• Child and Adolescent (National)
• Forensic psychiatry (National)
• General Adult (regional: North; West; South East and East)
• Medical Psychotherapy (National)
• Old Age (National)
• Intellectual Disability (National)

Specific rotations will depend on the training region. 

Throughout higher training, you’ll also have: 

• dedicated educational supervision
• opportunities for psychotherapy training
• management and leadership development
• protected learning time 

Your progression will be monitored through the Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP) process. An ARCP panel will assess your online portfolio against the higher psychiatry curriculum.

Certificate of Completion of Training

You’ll be issued a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) when you successfully complete higher psychiatry training. The CCT confirms you are fully trained in your psychiatry specialty. It also means you can join the GMC specialist register and apply for consultant psychiatrist jobs. 

GMC specialist register

Being on the GMC specialist register is a mandatory requirement for taking up a permanent consultant psychiatrist post in the NHS.

Learn more about the GMC specialist register.